


Campfire Song

by Nazadith



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25749199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nazadith/pseuds/Nazadith
Summary: Evelyn Westwood is a normal 15 year old girl, as far as normal goes in Earth Bet. She has powers, fights crime, and avoids thinking about her traumatic past. She reads books to escape, and to give her ideas for her powers. When a man from Brockton Bay adopts her, bringing her into that cesspit, how will she survive? Will she drown, or will she be able to burn a beacon of heroism for the others to follow?
Relationships: Carlos | Aegis/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Embers 1.01

a/n: This is my first bit of creative writing, and my first fanfiction. I've lurked in SB for a long while, reading the fanfics, and thought I'd try to write my own. I wanted to avoid the Taylor only in name trope, so I've decided to make it an OC who will go to Brockton Bay, and interact with our intrepid cast of personalities. Fear not, Taylor will still be in it. Just... later.

Evelyn ran down the well lit street, checking desperately through the windows of the suburban houses for any sign of someone watching. She had swung way out of her weight class tonight, going after Grotesque.

“Come out little girl,” rolled the oily voice of the rotting beast, as he clomped down the street behind her. The stench carried all the way to her nose, and good lord did she wish she had one of those fully sealed face masks the local Protectorate wore.

She was only in Andover for several days, and then she was moving up north to Brockton Bay and she wanted to give a goodbye that the city would remember. She thought she’d go on a big spree of stopping muggers, burglars, and the like. She never expected to be running down Elm Street with an undead villain attempting to eat out her brains or something. She happened to like the brains she had right where they were, thank you very much!

Evelyn gave up on any innocent passersby calling 911 and cursed her bad luck once again. She pulled on that little heat she felt under her tongue, causing one of her little spritelings to form. She concentrated deeply, closed her eyes, and pushed the heat into her hands. When she opened them again, the flame creature bounced on her palm, an orange spectre of a vampire standing about 12 inches tall.

“Please, help. It won’t stop following me.” Evelyn tried to push her thoughts at it, just like had worked when she practiced in the common room.

It briefly bowed to her, baring its pointed teeth and winking as it rose. The flaming vampire jumped off her palm and instantly began to sprint off, running much faster than any creature with that short of legs had a right to. She turned to watch it’s progress, taking cover beside a car. Down the street, she got her first glimpse of Grotesque. The lamps lit up an 8 foot tall rotten corpse, made up of different creatures. She caught a glimpse of a bear’s leg here, and a human arm there. The tiny vampire was running down the street straight at it, appearing as a glowing orange streak.

“What is this? You are going to trip me up?” Grotesque had the audacity to laugh at her little creation. It may be small, but it had spirit! She was going to prove him wrong. The vampire jumped around a car and up onto a curb, as Grotesque attempted to spray it from some kind of venom sack.

She summoned another sprite, concentrating and breathing deeper. This one was one of the more rebellious spirits... She breathed out, and the heat flared in her hand. A small woman stood there, with wings like a wasp. She fluttered them and stared up at Evelyn.

“The stories say that you are meant to be a trickster, and I know that you think this is funny. But you’re also supposed to defend the innocent! I just can’t-” Grotesque smashed a car aside to get at her vampire, which ran up the rotting corpse’s arm. The arm began to smoke and Grotesque simply dropped it off with the vampire still on it. “-I need it gone. Please. Help me Briar-Rose.”

Evelyn mentally pushed with all her might, and the fiery woman swayed. She tapped her lip and then began to float off, in the direction of Grotesque. The vampire was using its speed to run in circles around the tall man. Briar-Rose began to blink forwards, teleporting 10 feet every time. The little fire woman was only 10 feet away, Evelyn’s heart in her throat, when she reappeared way up above Grotesque.

“No, no, no!” chanted Evelyn as she watched her loose plan fall apart, her rebellious sprite leaving the battlefield. A dog had begun barking in the backyard of a neighboring house, the car alarms on the street were going off like crazy. Grotesque was beginning to lose interest in the little vampire and was turning to march towards the house with the pet. She tried to desperately think of any sprite she could summon, any at all, but the noise was messing with her concentration. She couldn’t pull out any ideas.

“Hey!” shouted Evelyn, her voice cracking slightly.

Somehow, she’d found herself in the center of the street. She felt like she was in one of those western movies her dad had liked to watch. Her chest began to swell with a familiar ache. Now was not the time, however. She was armed with a switchblade, an orange hoodie, black cargo pants, and a thin red bandana around her mouth. Her opponent was 8 feet tall, made of dead animals, and terrifying. The good thing was that she was currently winning, as Grotesque’s right arm lay burning several feet behind him. The bad thing, she was about to pay for it.

“Thought you could get away with busting my boys?” Grotesque’s voice matched the rest of him, rotten and a mix of creatures. As he spoke, it was a combination of a snake hiss, a cat yowling, and an old man’s dry rasp. He walked towards Evelyn, slowly. “Some small time cape, Spark Girl, taking me down? I spit at the very idea of it.”

True to his word, his spit came arching out at her and landed at her feet. The droplets burnt through the concrete with a hiss and Evelyn gulped. She struck a strong pose, like Legend would.

“I am Campfire, and you shall not pass!” She hoped her voice hadn’t cracked, that would ruin the effect entirely. Her vampire sprite had retreated back to her feet to prepare to charge.  
Briar-Rose still floated above Grotesque, waving her arms around in strange patterns. Evelyn drew her switchblade as if it would do something, and readied to fight.

As Grotesque entered his shuffling run, several things happened at once. Briar-Rose threw her arms down and smoke billowed up from the road. The little vampire drew a small fire sword and dashed forward to throw itself head first into the obscured villain.

Evelyn looked around for a real weapon, brandishing the knife at the smoke still. One of the downsides of having a Master power was the fact that she herself wasn’t really made to tussle with villains. She wasn’t entirely sure what Briar-Rose was doing but it seemed to be having an effect, as Grotesque was standing in the center of the effect still. The little vampire was nothing but an orange glow setting fire to the Villain, jumping from limb to limb.

The cracking sound of a lot of air announced the arrival of Protectorate hero Whipshot. Evelyn stepped back in surprise, the hooded Hero already drawing his bow to fire a shot into the knee of Grotesque.

“We’ll take it from here, Spark Girl!” announced the Robin Hood lookalike, as another cape dropped out of the skies on her metallic wings. Windcutter used her tinkertech bracers to fire compressed air at the flaming corpse villain, and the creature began to fall backwards.

Evelyn stood still in shock, as the Protectorate Heroes systematically took apart Grotesque, Windcutter’s bracers negating the villain’s acid and Whipshot filling him with arrows. Her little vampire was doing the best it could to burn the walking corpse, but with the amount of air being blasted at him, he was having a tough time staying up. Briar-Rose finally spun her hands together and with a great flourish… set the entire head on fire.

“Put it out, you little monster! Stop!” Evelyn was immediately terrified, she wasn’t wanting to kill someone. She wasn’t ready, she never thought she’d be a murderer. She was wracked with indecisiveness, prepared to bolt. The Protectorate Capes had withdrawn to watch Grotesque fall to his knees, blindly swinging his arms around still.

“Why aren’t you helping him?” Evelyn cried out, pointing at the dying man. She ran forward to pat out the flames, only to be stopped by Whipshot.

“It’s a tinkered minion, being controlled from somewhere else. Just returning the body to the earth, now. Those pieces aren’t meant to stick together, it’s why we haven’t been able to shut him down. We don’t know where the Tinker is.” He explained, eyes locked on the corpse, staring through his green whirlpool mask. His mouth and lower face was uncovered, and set in a grim line. Windcutter stood idly by and waited for the sparking to stop, as a mechanical circuit board was shown by the melting head.

Evelyn stumbled back and threw up into a bush, the sight too much for her young eyes.

“Hey now, it’s okay,” came a voice from behind her, as a strong hand patted her on the back. “It was a rough night but it’s over now.”

Heat rushed into her, the telltale sign of her sprites disappearing, and she coughed once, wiping her mouth. She straightened up to see Whipshot himself comforting her. He seemed to be trying to smile.

“You’re the hero, right? Independent?” he said.

Evelyn wordlessly nodded, only speaking through the sick taste in her mouth to correct a previous error, “My name is Campfire, not Spark Girl.”

“My apologies, Campfire. The unfortunate thing about not being affiliated with the Protectorate is that we can’t help control what the public calls you. Have you thought about joining up? You seem to be in need of training, a team, and resources.” He looked pointedly at her colorful homemade costume.

“I would think about it but… I’m not going to be around here much longer, sir. Don’t you need parents’ permission to join the Wards?” Evelyn genuinely regretted not joining up, but she didn’t see how she could make it work.

“Parent or Guardian, yes. If you join up wherever you’re going, tell them Whipshot will vouch for you. We’ve been watching your progress around the city, Campfire. We here appreciate you helping the small time stuff, getting more Heroes is what we always like.” Whipshot held out a hand to shake, as Windcutter began to flap her wings and move up into the night sky, calling in to the PRT.

Evelyn shook it, silently promising to herself that this would be going into her journal as soon as she got back home. She avoided looking at the smoldering Grotesque, muttering her thanks to Whipshot.

“Good luck, sir. I, uh… better go.” Evelyn prepared to jog off.

“And to you, Campfire. See you around, kid.” Whipshot aimed his bow without stringing any ammunition, and when he released it, teleported several hundred feet onto a rooftop down the street. He looked back to her and raised his bow in salute, then teleported away again.

Evelyn turned to begin the long jog home, as the PRT sirens got closer and closer. Once around the corner, she ducked into an alley and changed out of her Campfire costume, taking off the jacket and leaving a plain grey T-shirt on. She jogged out along the empty streets to the dull grey building that had been her home for the last 2 years, the Adlain Children’s Home. She climbed up the old oak tree that neighbored her window, and sat on the sill, knocking.

“I won’t even ask,” said her roommate Susanna, popping open the window and then lying back down to sleep. Evelyn threw her costume into the trunk under the bed, took off her spare clothes and then dove under the covers, shaking with the last of the adrenaline. She’d met Whipshot and had even shook his hand. She’d helped take down a villain- well, a tinkered minion, but who’s counting- and hadn’t even gotten hurt.

She tried to sleep, knowing that come tomorrow, she’d be meeting the man who’d come to adopt her. Her books were packed up already, Vampire Butler still out for her to read before bed. Her clothes were almost there, minus the costume. She was ready physically... just not emotionally. As she drifted off, Evelyn thought to herself “Brockton Bay will be better than here. Anywhere would be better…”


	2. Embers 1.02

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Evelyn leaves behind her home

1.02  
The Adlain Children’s Home was haloed by the bright sunlight of Evelyn’s last day in Andover. The symbolism was not lost on her, as she sat out under her oak tree reading a book, nor was the irony of it. A little slice of heaven it was not, nor was Mister Ilisan’s treatment. She looked at the squat concrete building, imagining it cracking at the foundations… burning to a crisp… melting..

“Hey Evelyn, you okay? You look a bit… off,” said Susanna, smiling softly, as she knelt down beside her with a pair of sandwiches.

“U-uh… yes. I am surely fine, concerned citizen. Would you like anything, m’lady?” Evelyn joked, putting on a faux British accent and bowing her head.

“Eve-y… Vampire Butler? Again? You know I hated that character! Why can’t you impersonate someone interesting?” Susanna whined as she handed the second sandwich to her.

Evelyn put down her book, marking her page with a bit of ripped paper. The grinning vampire on the cover was winking at her as if he knew her secret. She knew in her mind that it was just her projecting on an inanimate object but that little vampire had been her constant companion for the last few years. The only thing still in her life from her childhood. She was constantly losing things in her life, but especially in the last few years.

“Vampire Butler is a quality piece of literature, with strong female role models. You should be glad I gave you the opportunity to view such stunning inspiration.” Evelyn teased back, though her heart was not in it.

She took the offered sandwich and stared at Susanna, biting into it as she tried to memorize the other girl’s face. Susanna had that tanned skin everyone wanted, Evelyn was always jealous of her ability to not just burn in the sun. Evelyn especially hated that Susanna got the stereotypical valley girl look, with those nice baby blues and the platinum blonde hair that rarely lasted past puberty. Susanna could clearly see the desperate scans that Evelyn was trying to subtly do.

“Evelyn, you know this isn’t goodbye right? I heard that you’re getting fostered out to a single dad, very well off,” Susanna leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. “You can’t let on that you know, but I heard he’s some bigwig in Brockton Bay’s PRT. You’ll be living in a little rich house with everything you could ever want soon”

“Anna, you know how the rumours get. Next thing you’ll hear is that Legend himself is coming to take me away to live like a princess in a tinkered castle in the sky.” Evelyn could not, however, stop the flutter of hope in her numbing heart.

“That’s easily seen as a lie though, Eve! You know Legend would choose me out of everyone here, I’m obviously the best kid around.” Susanna preened, framing her face with her hands and making puppy dog eyes.

“Just shut up, Annaaaaaa” She dragged out her name, rolling it around on her tongue, savoring one of the last times she would be messing around with her best friend. “You’re the worst! Legend would see my glowing complexion, and realize that I’m the one for him.”

Contrary to this, Evelyn was a pasty girl. Her red hair made her face look even worse when she blushed, which she did constantly. The worst part was that her hazel eyes didn’t fit her face at all, the only thing she got from her dreaded mother. She wanted green, or blue ones.

Susanna just smiled, letting the silence sit for a moment as the two friends enjoyed one of their last meals together. The oak tree provided some nice shade as they watched the younger kids play on the makeshift swings, laughing. A light wind blew across their faces, the clouds in the sky were like soft cotton candy. Nothing could spoil it. Nothing, except for the shiny black car rolling up to the gates of the Children’s Home.

Evelyn turned to Susanna, letting the half eaten sandwich fall away.

“Promise me you’ll write. I’ll send you a postcard with my address, and you can write back, and we can be pen pals. Promise!”

“I promise, Evelyn. Keep making a difference where you go.”

Evelyn paused, halfway stepping away, looking back at Susanna. Susanna seemed somber, dead serious.

“She can’t know… she’s never said anything before. She’s the gullible optimistic one!” Evelyn thought, trying to figure out if she’d summoned anything around Susanna. She’d thought she managed to play it off as needing walks at night, getting away from the bed and tiring herself out.

“I got you a little gift, for making a difference in my life. When you read it, send me what you think about it!” Susanna was holding out a blue package, with a nice white bow on it, “I wrapped it up in the colors of my favorite hero, so you wouldn’t forget who gave you it. No opening it until you get to your new home though!”

Susanna had a strange fascination with the only ward in Andover, a cape who turned into electricity called SynaptiShock . She never stopped talking about the press shoots, the action figures, the various small crimes SynaptiShock stopped. She even had a signed picture framed above her cot. It was rather adorable, it was a shame that Evelyn had gotten the powers and not Susanna. Susanna was the one who loved capes. Evelyn just wanted to keep the capes out of her life… Her heart began to throb again.

“Evelyn Westwood! Please pack up your belongings and come to Mr Ilisan’s office.” The voice of the yard officer rang out, shattering Evelyn’s reverie.

Evelyn took the package, her book, and began to walk towards the office. She walked into the cold and oppressive concrete structure with her eyes on the floor. A boy on his way out to play laughed with his friends, bouncing a ball. Evelyn wished more than anything that she could just go back out to Susanna, never getting adopted. She didn’t need new parents. All that bravado faded away, and she was left with just the numbness.

She held onto that heat that was always under her tongue, that whisper of power that meant she was never truly alone, and kept walking. Up the stairs to the second floor, down the hallway, to the first door on the right. She opened it, looking one last time upon her shared room.

The poster of SynaptiShock in flight above Susanna’s bed smiled down at her. Evelyn’s bed was as messy as the moment she’d gotten up, while Susanna had made hers with military precision. Evelyn had finally cleaned the floor on her side of the room while she’d readied to leave, but Susanna had always been like that. Her roommate had been a solid anchor in the worst part of her life.

Evelyn threw her discarded “costume” into the bottom of her trunk and carefully placed her present on top, with Vampire Butler and her new book “Huntress”. She grabbed onto the handle and began to wheel it out, turning the lights off for the last time. She carried the trunk down the stairs, and looked to the door at the end of the hallway.

The Red Door, the ironic door that meant adoption to the wards of Adlain’s Children Home, was the office of one Richard Ilisan. Inside awaited her future. She didn’t know if she was ready.

She could hear a male voice inside, responding to something Mister Ilisan said, a warm chuckle. She took a deep breath, reaching out to grab onto the doorknob, and turning it. The door opened slowly to a silence, and she stepped in.

(A/n, little bit shorter this time, wanted to lay out Evelyn as a person. Next chapter, adoption and then moving to Brockton Bay! Who will adopt her, is the real question.)


	3. Embers 1.03

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn gets adopted, and moves out to Brockton Bay

1.03  
Evelyn opened the Red Door and stepped into the office of the owner of Adlain’s Children Home. It wasn’t the first time she’d been there, but hopefully it would be the last. The room was reminiscent of what the building was truly, a soulless bunker. The only decoration was a dense oak table in the center, and a small opaque window behind it.

“Come in, Evelyn. Please sit down.” Mister Ilisan gestured at the unoccupied chair across from him, next to a bearded man in a blue suit. He had an unpleasantly fake smile directed at Blue Suit, hiding the monster behind honeyed words and a brown nose.

Blue Suit looked extremely uncomfortable with the entire situation. He sat awkwardly in his chair and looked up at her. The first thing to stand out to Evelyn was that he wasn’t much shorter than her even while sitting down.

“Hello Evelyn, my name is Colin Wallis. I was hoping that I could… be your father.”

Evelyn was amazed. He’d managed to see that like he was as reluctant to adopt her as she was to be adopted. Still, getting out of this place and into a new life was better than nothing.

“I’d like that…?” She tried for a smile, knowing that she had to act like she wasn’t replacing her dad, even if only in name.

Mr Wallis twitched his lips in some semblance of a smile, and the next few hours passed in a blur. They’d already filled out some paperwork before she had been aware of the adoption, apparently. She’d be going to stay with Mr Wallis for a few months on “probation”, and then they’d go before a court to finalize it.

The papers were signed, Mister Illisan’s sleazy smile tainting what should be a good final memory of what was her home for the last 3 years of her life. Mr Wallis had been rather quiet, which boded well for their coming relationship. Evelyn didn’t need a new dad, she just needed an escape from this place, and Mr Wallis seemed to be comfortable with their silent arrangement.

“Thank you for coming to Adlain’s Children Home. I hope I don’t overstep my bounds in saying that I pray you don’t return. Please, stay away this time Evelyn.” He smiled like the Mouth of Sauron from the Aleph Lord of the Rings movie, at least to Evelyn’s eyes, and she stared at the ground wishing to just get out.

Mr Wallis looked up from the final papers, placing them on the desk, and rose saying, “If that will be all, I do have to get back to Brockton Bay. My work does not give me much vacation time so I would like to get you… settled in, before I return.”

Evelyn could work with the schedule he was implying. She’d have a lot of time to read, and maybe she could write her own book like she’d been wanting to. He seemed like he’d only be a distant adult figure in the household, which was fine by her.

Evelyn got up to follow Mr Wallis out, avoiding looking at Mister Illisan the entire way. She grabbed her bags and glanced up the hallway, catching a flash of blonde hair disappearing into her old room, and looked up to Mr Wallis to see if she could go say goodbye… again. Mr Wallis was like a stone wall, his thoughts a million miles away. With a regretful glance back at the room she’d stayed in, Evelyn followed her new foster parent down the stairs and out into the midmorning sun. She watched the young kids who were abandoned by their parents play on the swings, the wards of the state who were escaping disaster sitting and chatting, and wished she could be so innocent as to forget the trauma of her past for a little while.

That was the thing with having powers and being a cape, wasn’t it? Evelyn wished she could just forget her past, but her powers were a constant reminder of the terror she felt and the worst moment in her life. Any time she summoned her little sprites, she wasn’t alone, but… she also had to remember why she could do it. She kept following Mr Wallis to his car, waiting for him to say something to her.

He was already in a better place on her rankings than the last pair of “parents”, who’d decided she needed help coming out of her shell. She just didn’t like adults, sue her. Mr Wallis opened the trunk, revealing a rather uninteresting set of belongings. A large steamer trunk and a smaller suitcase lay inside, with more than enough space for her little rolling bag and her backpack. She lifted it in with his help, and got it into the car without looking back again.

Mr Wallis got into the car, checked his mirrors, and put on his seatbelt as if by following a checklist. He then turned to Evelyn and began to list things on his fingers, “Firstly, I would like you to call me Colin. I will try to not overstep my boundaries and invade your privacy, as I do not know your mind,” Evelyn noticed he paused slightly, and cocked his head before continuing, “I’m going to try and give you a better life. I know some of the circumstances of your entry into the foster program from your file, and will try to accommodate you.”

Evelyn just winced, cringing into the seat trying to make herself smaller.

“We can talk about it later, but I will need to know some things, due to my work with the PRT. It may put us both in danger. I am only a technician with them, but due to my close work with the Protectorate branch, your family will need to be tracked. Are you familiar with the Capes in Brockton Bay?”

Evelyn looked up from where she was trying to be absorbed into the seat, shaking her head.

“I’m not that into the whole.. cape scene. I sort of know the capes here, because of my roommate.”

“Yes, the leader of the local team is rather well known. Whipshot is a high tier Mover and Blaster, and a damn good hero. In Brockton Bay, we have an extremely high amount of capes, one of the highest in the country. Though the local Protectorate team is putting in extreme levels of work, the city still has locations that are known to be under gang control. There is the ABB, an ethnic gang of Asian cultures under the leader of a powerful cape called Lung. He is an obnoxiously powerful man, with a teleporting lieutenant by the name of Oni Lee. Though there are few capes, his unpowered members are many and his gang traffics young women and drugs. We will be living near their territory, so I would like you to get to know them. I’ve prepared some light reading on them for you, as I know you like to read, and have left it in your new room. The other major player in the city is Empire Eighty Eight. They are a neo-Nazi group, led by Kaiser and have the largest group of capes in the-”

Evelyn had interjected the man’s mechanical recitation of facts without even realizing her mouth was moving, “I know about Empire Eighty Eight, my... mother talked about them a lot.”

Mr. Wallis looked over at her, then back at the road, frowning slightly. Evelyn felt a wave of fear pass through her system at the thought that she may have just annoyed him and ruined things before they’d even left Andover.

He finally spoke several minutes later, “The Merchants are to be avoided, but your file has not indicated any tendency towards drugs so you should not need to interact with them much. The other groups in the city are not open enough to worry too much about. There are some independent heroes that operate in the city, Venti comes to mind, but again, they do not operate on a large enough scale to register on the greater cape scene,” His phone started to buzz in the cupholder, and he moved his hand up to his ear, saying, “When it comes up, I will tell you about the local Protectorate. I have a business call now. Try and rest. I’ll wake you when we get to your new home.”

Evelyn hadn’t noticed the earbud Mr Wallis had in, but she could get the message. She wished she hadn’t left her book in her bag so far away, and she didn’t have a phone anymore. Not for a long while. She rested her head on her hand, leaning against the window, and closed her eyes. She just focused on the heat beneath her tongue, thinking about what she could do with it. Maybe she’d finally take up the offer of the Protectorate, she still didn’t know what to do with her powers.

Evelyn wasn’t really cut out for the superhero life. She wanted to help people, but she was scared of angry adults. She could only deal with it through her sprites, letting them take care of it while she watched. She was like the general, dispersing her troops to battle. With the Protectorate teaching her, she could be a better general. She could get access to better troops… With that last thought, her eyes slid shut to the sound of Mr Wallis beginning to talk quietly.

\---Brockton Bay---

When Evelyn awoke, she was in a grey dreary city. Mr Wallis had already gotten out of the car, and was coming back for her rolling bag from the open trunk. The air stunk from the breeze blowing in off the ocean. She pushed open the door and went out into her new home, grabbing her backpack from the trunk. The little house was sparsely decorated, with neutral colors. It didn’t look like a person had lived here a day of their lives. She looked around the kitchen, noting the stock fridge, and opened it up to see what was inside. Absolutely nothing, not even a bottle of milk.

“I need to go into work. I will be back in the early morning, and we will talk about school for you. Please stay here, I will leave the phone number for the nearest pizza place for you. Do you have any preferences?” Mr Wallis asked as he placed her rolling bag in the hallway.

“Nothing special, just a cheese pizza will do… Thank you Mister, uh, Colin. I'll give them a call soon.” Evelyn was ready to read, closing the refrigerator and beginning to walk towards the farther hallway. She needed some time to just rest and decompress, in the comforting tales of the Vampire Butler thwarting the trickster fairy Briar-Rose.

“Of course. Your room is the first on the right. I will talk to you in the morning. I hope you enjoy your food. Please read up on the town, it is quite important to know how to live here safely. Goodnight, Evelyn.” He turned and began to walk out, an extremely awkward man.

She made an aborted wave at his back and walked into the room on the right. Inside was a small bed, pushed up against the corner, with a lamp and a table next to it . A window looked out onto the street with a small set of blackened shades pulled halfway down. Evelyn threw herself onto the bed feeling suddenly exhausted. Her suitcase lay abandoned in the hallway, and her backpack was slung at the foot of the bed. All thoughts for further exploring fled her mind as she pulled out her book and got sucked into the story, figuring out how the Vampire Butler would thwart Briar-Rose’s attempt to put giggle potion into the Master’s cake.

She idly summoned her sprites to act out the story, not having to push thoughts into them to make them do the things they were written to do. She spent at least 2 hours reading and watching the increasingly ludicrous plot play out, when she began to hear noises outside. The street was lighting up with an orange glow and when she opened the window she could hear beastial roars.

Evelyn glanced at the thick folder on her bedside table, suddenly wishing she’d read up on the gangs of Brockton Bay before now. Surely they couldn’t be worse than Grotesque’s undead monsters. She put on her costume, ready to defend her new neighborhood, and stepped outside. A few streets over there was fire lighting the air, and she could hear the buzzing of many insects. She began to run, her already summoned sprites flowing alongside her to the battlefield.

(A/N and there we go. Brockton Bay has appeared, and Evelyn bursts on to the scene. This was a bit of a struggle to write, but hopefully it came out okay. Thanks for reading!)


	4. Embers 1.04

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Canon gets addressed, Evelyn joins the fight against Lung.

1.04

The rasping, rattling, buzzing noises of an angry swarm of bugs echoed up ahead as Campfire ran through the streets of the unfamiliar new city. She could hear the crashing of waves as she got closer to the docks, running through near empty neighborhoods. Every few moments would come an extremely loud roar of pain from a deep voiced male, followed by a pulse of fire in the night

“ ‘ll kill oo,” raged the voice of an almost unintelligible raging man, accented heavily even past what sounded like a mouthwash made of gravel and glue.

Campfire made it around the corner to see a six foot tall Asian man, wreathed in flames and silver plating, spinning around and getting swarmed by a biblical plague of insects. She couldn’t see anyone else who he could be fighting, though he had been threatening to kill someone before she got there.

Campfire knelt behind one of the dumpsters, calling out both of her sprites. The flames they gave off were comforting, in contrast to the virulent flames being spread by the Asian man.

“Take him down, as quickly as you can.” She pushed at them, Campfire couldn’t see anyone in very much immediate danger but the people who lived in the homes nearby wouldn’t appreciate getting burned out and left to sit on the streets. She sent Briar-Rose impressions of the abilities the sprite had used against Grotesque, and let the little vampire choose his own strategy. Without the car alarms and desperate fear for her life, Campfire was able to focus a bit more on the feelings she got from her sprites. She could push orders upon them, like a commander, but she didn’t have complete control. The sprites she summoned had their own intentions that even she couldn’t fully supersede.

The bugs continued to maneuver, and it seemed like one got through. The Asian Man roared in pain, and fully covered himself in flames. Her sprites were still moving towards him, being as small as they were. The bugs were dying by the dozen, and pulled back collectively, implying some manner of controlled intelligence.

After a moment of searching, the man hunched over suddenly as if pained, cradling his stomach. His back separated in two, leaving a meaty gap in the center. Campfire turned away in disgust for a moment, and when she looked back the gap had closed up and was now lined with silver scales. He seemed to have grown much taller as well.

With an abrupt and violent snap, his head locked onto the roof of the building that Campfire huddled next to. He let out a roar of triumph and leapt towards the building. Campfire could see the man’s hands were shoved into the wall about three quarters of the way up the building, and he was rapidly climbing. He seemed locked onto whatever was up there that caught his interest, and Campfire knew she had to step in around now. She had no weapons, but she could change the orders of the sprites.

She really didn’t want to do this.  
“Into the fire, run through it several times. Then attack the scaled man.” She pushed at the vampire. She left Briar-Rose to do her arm waving ‘magic’ at the scaled man, as the little fairy had sat down mid air to start stirring a flaming cup of something she had summoned.

The vampire ran into the fires on the street that the Asian man had caused by exploding, and grew a few inches. He continued to do this until he went from 12 inches tall to almost 6 feet. The vampire’s form had filled out, revealing a rather handsome man in a suit and bowtie, with a flaming rose in his lapel. He held out his hand, revealing a long and slender blade of fire. Campfire’s pushing of orders upon him became exponentially harder, but thankfully he was initially disposed towards defending his Master. He ran like a streak of orange energy towards the building and then up the side, up to the roof to follow her last order.

Campfire started to creep around the building to find a way to access the roof. She wasn’t going to give very good orders if she couldn’t see anything, and she didn’t get anything relevant from the vampire. Briar-Rose was rarely helpful, liking to help at the last second and be dramatic. The scaled man was yelling curse words and threats at her vampire, sending flames shooting off the roof. Campfire got to the fire escape on the other side of the building, and looked at the two story climb awaiting her. She sighed, and began to pull herself up, taking a mental note to try to work out more.

Half-way up the climb, she heard a loud impact of something large crashing against the roof above her. She pushed the thought of urgency at Briar-Rose and climbed up further. She poked her head out cautiously at the sound of a large beast growling. Her bright orange hoodie didn’t exactly lend itself to caution, so she was as surprised as the other person when she came face to face with yellow lenses set into a grey mask.

Campfire reflexively swung a fist at the bug themed cape, almost striking the mandible-esque jawline of the other person before they scurried backwards.

“Friendly! I’m a uh… I’m a hero!” Bug girl shout-whispered, as a large canine lizard charged the scaled man off the edge of the roof.

Campfire’s vampire crouched at the edge of the roof, looking down at the fight, holding its thin sword across its lap. He was regularly checking a rooftop to the right, and then back down to the road.

Campfire pulled herself fully onto the roof, staring down at the strangely professional costume of Bug Girl. She strained and pushed the thought at the larger vampire sprite, “defend me”, and it seemed to agree to the orders. The vampire paced the east edge of the apartment, doing something it decided was necessary to do.

“Okay, hero. Why were you attacking Scale Man over there? And where did the monster come from?” Campfire said, sitting on the roof by the fire escape, gravel crunching under her converse. She took a moment to examine the edgy but seemingly custom made costume Bug Girl was wearing, with the intricately woven threads of some grey material and plates of hardened armor.

“Lung was going to kill kids.. and I couldn’t just run away.”

“That’s Lung?” Campfire exclaimed, terrified at the fight she’d just jumped into, “Dragon of Kyushu, the one who fought an Endbringer alone? Shit, shit, shit.”

The Bug Girl seemed to be easing up a little bit from Campfire’s clear nervousness. She didn’t speak, but she was much less tense, while Campfire’s adrenaline had peaked. She pushed a command onto the much more pliant fairy sprite, telling Briar-Rose to knock out the Scaled Man as fast as possible.

The roof shook with the impact of two more beastly canines, the riders quickly disembarking and preparing themselves for a fight. They were teenagers, a pair of guys and a pair of girls. The vampire stood between us and them, staring down the boy who dressed like him.

“Finally, a sense of fashion,” Ren Fair boy exclaimed as Campfire’s Vampire assumed a classic dueling stance.

The man clad in motorcycle leathers and darkness slapped him in the back of the head, and the blonde girl stepped forward to talk to the pair of heroes.

“Introductions, I’m Tattletale, this is Bitch, the fashion star is Regent, and Tall Dark and Handsome over there is Grue,” she said, her eyes bouncing back between the girls and the flaming vampire.

Campfire left her previous order to the vampire going, and looked at Bug Girl, not knowing who would talk. The edgy hero was staring back at her and not attempting to speak, so Campfire assumed she would go first.

“I’m Campfire and this is Bug Girl. Are you here to stop Lung as well?”

“To an extent, but you seem to have already done that,” Tattletale smiled, and gestured with her head towards the edge of the roof. The dogs prowled back and forth, snarling at Campfire’s flaming guardian. The vampire was simply standing, crackling away merrily.

Campfire gave the group of capes a look, and then her and Bug Girl went over to look down at what had happened with the monster dog and Lung. The scaled man was unconscious, wrapped in “chains” of thick pink smoke, with Briar-Rose resting on his chest.

“Now, with that dealt with, we’ll be off. Don’t want to get in the way of more.. official heroes. We have patrols to handle.” Tattletale smiled and hopped back onto the one of the beasts.

The girl who was so far just standing and acting tough whistled, and climbed up behind Regent. He winked at Campfire, and then turned to let the dog leap forward. Grue climbed up behind Tattletale, and then looked back at them. He stared as if he was going to say something, and at some unseen cue turned back towards Tattletale and kicked off. The final dog climbed up onto the roof from where it was sniffing a dumpster, growled one last time at the Vampire and ran on into the night.

The unnaturally loud rumble of an engine echoed up the street in their wake, leaving Bug Girl and Campfire staring at each other, left almost speechless in the whiplash of how quick the danger had passed.

Campfire’s vampire dismissed his blade and dashed across to the fire escape in a blur of flame. He held out his arm in preparation to aid Campfire in getting off the roof.

“Let’s go make sure Lung is down, Butler here will protect us from whoever is coming.” Campfire patted the other girl on the shoulder and walked towards the fire escape.

Bug Girl tensed up at the touch, and let out a strange squeak. She followed behind Campfire silently, strange for what seemed like such a professional cape. The two girls walked down to street level together, in companionable silence, as Campfire tried to figure out how to politely ask the questions she wanted.

“How long have you been out here? That’s a cool costume and you had the guts to fight Lung with just some bugs… Do you make them big and evil with your powers?” Campfire just about gushed questions eventually, unsure how to ask them and unwilling to wait for the right wording to come to her.

“This is my first time out and… that was a mistake.” Bug Girl quietly confessed, avoiding the question about her powers. She seemed to stand taller after Campfire had complimented her costume and had deflated upon mention of fighting Lung. “I just wanted to make a difference.”

“Oh, my young apprentice. I have been doing this for a long time now, and I will show you how to patrol the right way. With my brains, and your guts, we will clean this city up in no time.” Campfire thought that the fact that she’d only been going out for a couple of months now, and that she was very young to have an apprentice, to be irrelevant. The great wizards in the stories always taught lessons to the young inexperienced heroes.

Bug Girl made an aborted laugh, which turned into a choking noise upon the sight that greeted her on the street. Campfire turned to check what was so astonishing. The vampire was standing with the fairy on his shoulder, staring into the horizon as the rumbling got louder and louder.

Coming up the street on a souped out motorcycle was a hulking figure in bright blue armor.


	5. Embers 1.05, the Armsmaster Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armsmaster takes care of Lung, and checks out a new cape team in town.

1.05, Armsmaster Interlude

Collin Wallis had seen quite a few strange powers at work in his long career as a Protectorate hero. He had been one of the originals to join the new government hero organization, and in his opinion he was still amongst the best they had to offer. As a Tinker, he got better the more he worked on his equipment. His name reflected who he was. Armsmaster. His trademark halberd had become the symbol of efficiency, the height of his ability to miniaturize technology. However… he’d been hitting a ceiling recently. There was only so much space available even for his skill to compress.

Armsmaster had been hoping that the new sedative he’d created for Lung’s transformation would be tested today, and he could get ideas for new creations. Instead, as he drove up the shoddily lit street in the Docks, he was seeing a group of capes standing over the downed body of the gangster.

His visor had scanned the bright orange costume of the smallest cape, and displayed a file from the PRT in Andover, for a Spark Girl who claimed to go by Campfire. Preliminary reports suggested a weak Shaker power, fast moving streaks of fire. She had a limited range and caused very little damage, so he wasn’t worried. The only thing special about her was that her power did not seem Manton limited. It could ignite living and non-living things alike, and it was hypothesized that she could control the level of burning. She must have come to the bay extremely recently, as the latest report on her was an interaction with Whipshot only yesterday.

“Reminder: check on Evelyn Westwood in 8 minutes.” He subvocalized, adding a note to his personal calendar. That would give enough time for her to explore the house and order a dinner from the nearest restaurant, Michael’s Pizzeria. It would also only allow 5 minutes for talking so he would not be distracted too much from his patrol.

Speaking of the patrol. There were 2 capes Armsmaster’s database couldn’t identify, the first was tall, dressed in a grey high-grade costume with no visible weapons. He tentatively tagged her as a Rogue. Visual scan suggested Villain, but Campfire was a known Independent Hero. The third figure was most likely a Cape 53. A fanged creature made of fire, he had had a more unfortunate transformation. All Cape 53s had strange body modifications but this one would not be able to interact with any of normal society. This cape was the only one displaying a weapon. Another Rogue tag added on his display.

Armsmaster pulled his bike up, and stepped off slowly. He pulled his halberd from its side rack and used his eye tracker to begin filing a report from his template to send off to the PRT.

“I see you’ve taken down Lung. Are you going Rogue, Campfire? Starting up a new organization?”

The other 2 capes seemed to defer to her, through body language. He had been hearing that there was a new group coming into the Bay, but he couldn’t be sure who. Too many rumours. Best to get this out of the way.

“I only just met her, but… we’re teaming up! Wait.. you know my name?” She seemed excited.

Armsmaster’s mental estimate of her age lowered by 2 years. He asked for a brief rundown on how the fight had occurred, to add to his report, and when he received it from Campfire he filled in the template silently. It gave him some time to recall the new training.

“A new Hero team, as young as you are, and able to defeat Lung. You may have some power but have you heard the statistics on Independents’ survival rate? 1 in 10 are killed within a month of coming out. 1 in every 30 survives the first six months, without being subsumed into a gang. Even less chance in Brockton Bay. If the three of you join the Protectorate, you can have an even greater team.”

He gave them a few moments to process that, just as he had been taught, and then opened his mouth to continue.

"Campfire, your file at the Protectorate comes with a commendation from Whipshot, so you can bypass some initial tests. What do I call you both?”

The Case 53 appeared to be old, Protectorate age. Bringing him in, along with the 2 Ward age girls, would add to his long pedigree of successes. It might go a ways in fixing his reputation from the levels it sank to after the Vista incident. Speaking of which, he couldn’t take too long on this interaction. The report template was filled in, and the PRT was on its way to bring in the head of the ABB. That certainly gave Armsmaster a wave of confidence.

“I haven’t thought of a name yet…” Grey Girl said quietly

The girl in grey would need to work on her heroics. Costume didn’t reflect it, no name to stand the reputation upon, and only one action. Not a good start. The other cape hadn’t spoken yet. Armsmaster began to relax his grip on the halberd, using it to rest his weight upon.

“And he.. doesn’t speak. He’s called Butler. We’re going to have to think as a team about this offer,” interjected Campfire, “Is there a way to reach you? Or anything else you need from us about this?”

“We need to talk about the Dragon in the corner,” Armsmaster looked over at Lung, who was wrapped in pink smoke and had a blob of fire resting upon him, “I’m not sure how your fires affected him, but congratulations on taking him down. Who will take the credit? My best idea for the safety of all involved is to let me take the credit, and the danger that comes with it, with all the backing of my organization. If you join up, we will release the true story only where we can protect you all.”

The two female capes turned aside to discuss in low whispers. His visor picked it up, but he dismissed it for now. He could always review the recordings later, if they proved to be necessary. The studying of the flaming Case 53 was taking up his attention. No unconscious movement typical to baseline humans. Armsmaster didn’t believe he’d seen any movement to suggest blinking, or changes in expressions. Truly an odd biology.

The timer in the corner of his display was beginning to hit the halfway mark. The call would be going through to the pizzeria soon, by his estimates.

“We’d like you to bring in Lung and say you took him down. I’d like whatever you have on how to join up,” said Campfire as they returned to our huddle.

Armsmaster always kept a small pamphlet in his vambrace just in case he met a cape that could possibly join. He popped it out, and let it expand to the full form, handing it over to Campfire. He updated the tags on his display, replacing the villain tags with Hero.

“If you go into the PRT headquarters, ask the man at the desk to see your uncle. He will put you into a screening room and then you’ll fill out a questionnaire. This will give us a baseline for Master/Stranger screenings. Campfire, you can skip this step. You’ll get an explanation in person where to go next.” Armsmaster said.

He had been told that with many teenagers, it helped to act like their deal was done and the outcome was inevitable. Gave less time for arguments that he would have to deal with.

“And that other group? Do we do anything about them,” questioned Campfire.

“Those ‘Heroes’ are a teenage group of Villains known as the Undersiders. You’re lucky that your group discouraged them from fighting, as they have a nasty set of capes. Grue generates disorienting smoke, and Hellhound creates the creatures you mentioned. The other two are still unknown, but they are known as Tattletale and Regent. We have our theories on their powers, but nothing concrete.”

Sirens echoed in the night as the PRT van raced through the city. A reminder pinged in the corner of his eye, and he dismissed it.

“You’re free to go now. I’ll take it from here.” Armsmaster needed them gone before the PRT got here, as there were spies in the organization and that would foil the entire ruse.

The two girls seemed startled. The Case 53 was still studying him, but had made the sword disappear. They made vague goodbye statements, and ran into an alley and into the night. Armsmaster was left staring down at a tranquil Lung.

“Armsmaster, to Console. Did you get my feed?”

“Console to Armsmaster, I have it here,” came the voice of Aegis, his current Ward.

“Console, download it onto a USB, and wipe that feed.”

He’d splice together footage of his previous fights to sell it, if necessary. He twisted the shaft of his halberd and injected Lung with the sedative when it came out.

“Console to Armsmaster, there’s a disturbance near the Lord Street Market, possible cape group. This is the one we were looking for.”

Armsmaster looked at the sleeping dragon and then at his map. Lord Street Market was a 3 minute ride by his bike. Calling Evelyn was late by 1 minute, so he would have barely enough time to get an update on her and then be prepared to fight.

“Armsmaster to Console, I’ll check it out. My map shows Miss Militia 6 minutes away. Let her know to start heading there. I’ll let Captain Hert know that I am leaving.”

“Acknowledged, Armsmaster. Good luck.”

Armsmaster stowed his halberd back into its place alongside the bike and straddled it. That containment van couldn’t go any slower. He gunned his bike and zoomed down the street towards it, it was on the way to the Market anyway. He called out to the van as he went past, and after a brief exchange moved on towards the marker that Console had placed on his map. He called the phone line he’d installed at home, but no one picked up. Perhaps Evelyn was asleep. He’d have to check his security cameras when he got a moment.

\---------------------------------

Lord Street Market, the open air market where one could get almost anything for a price. Situated right on the edge of the Boardwalk, it was convenient. It also meant that there was a low crime rate. Easy to patrol, or so Armsmaster thought. He’d turned off the built-in noise generator from his bike to gain an element of surprise on the unknown cape group, but hadn’t seen anyone. He’d come upon a dingy bar just down the street from the Market, the Seal of Approval. A neon-lit seal balanced a ball on its nose above a man with a brilliantly colored mohawk and a studded denim jacket being tossed out onto the curb by an oversized bouncer.

The bouncer dressed in black clothes, with a strange A symbol spray painted on the back, which when checked against Armsmaster’s database came up as the Anarchist emblem. The movement hadn’t had widespread support since government Capes had first started stepping in against Endbringers. PRT propaganda was usually good enough to sway the masses. The mohawk man lay sleeping on the floor, as the bouncer spat on him and muttered a curse. The large man opened the door to return inside and let out a pulsing guitar beat along with the stink of beer and sweat. He was wearing a red lit up mask, with the eyes replaced by X’s, but it was hard to tell if the man was one of the presumptive capes or just part of the get-up inherent in the club.

Armsmaster pulled his bike over and had Aegis connect him to Miss Militia  
He could have done it himself, quicker, but there were formalities to be observed.

“Miss Militia, it’s Armsmaster. I’m going in. The Seal of Approval, there’s a high civilian count here, choose your armament accordingly.”

“I hear you Armsmaster, I’ll be there soon. Be careful.”

Armsmaster grunted an affirmation, and increased the noise cancellation in his helmet. He pulled the door open and was greeted by a wave of noise. On stage a skinny man in black pants and a tank top was screaming along to heavy guitar. His mask was colored green with the same features as the man he’d assumed was a bouncer. Cape team most likely. The guitarist was a woman in red denim, with blue neon in her mask. The bouncer was seated behind the drums, having somehow gotten back to the stage through an entire crowd and started playing before Armsmaster had made it the short distance to the door. Another person stood to the side with a yellow mask on, with headphones around her neck.

All of these details were taken in for a mere moment before the music cut  
short. The source of the disturbance was clear to Armsmaster, as the people in the mosh pit continued to sway as if drunk, then turned towards him. Their eyes were glowing green.

“We are the Not So Silent Edge and you’re gonna die Government Pig!” screamed out the vocalist into the microphone, as he pointed a hand at the shinily armored Protectorate leader.

The crowd cheered at that, and began to run at Armsmaster. The drummer stood up again, and took a charging leap off the stage over the entire crowd to land in front of him. A definite Brute.

“Armsmaster to Console. Engaging.”


	6. Sparks 2.01

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn deals with all the change, and prepares to join the Wards

2.1

TW: Panic Attacks/Depression

Evelyn tossed uncomfortably in her new bed, wishing she could quiet her mind instantly. She’d come back in through the window after running away with the The near brush with a legendary villain had reminded her of how mortal she was. She was far out of her comfort zone. Her body was beginning to rock with subtle tremors, the tell-tale signs of a panic attack. She was out of her depth in this town.

Half a week of strange happenings with evil capes who could hurt her really badly. She had moved most of a state away from her only friend, and had powers she didn’t fully understand. The Butler had escaped her control for the most part even if it hadn’t done anything about that. What little control of the entire situation began to slip away from her. Evelyn was too young and too inexperienced to begin to handle being a cape alone. She wished the powers she had hadn’t come to her. She wanted to read a good book, curl up by the fire, and relax. Mobsters, criminals, and god forbid Endbringers were threats best left to people who actually wanted to make a difference and not just read about it the next day.

She couldn’t even appreciate a story without her powers. When her first book had burned, and the stories came to life, the part of her imagination that had so vividly drawn up the lines from the pages for her to experience had also been burnt out. Now the only way for her to experience the story was to let her minions dance. Without her power, they were nothing more than words on a page.

Evelyn’s breathing started to pick up, and her throat felt like acid was burning it. Her stomach was churning uncomfortably and her chest was pounding. She shakily stood up, powered by pure desperation, and dashed to the window. She yanked it back open from where she’d climbed back in, and let the cold wind blow on her face. The unfamiliar scents of the dingy city did very little to calm her nerves. She could hear the distant whoops of sirens and was reminded again of meeting Armsmaster and the Bug girl. A moment of clarity burnt through the feelings of anxiety, and directed her gaze to the slip of orange that she had stowed under the bed.

She knelt down and reached under the bed, fishing out the orange jacket that served as the top of her costume. Inside the hoodie’s pocket was the folded up slip of paper given by Armsmaster on how to join the Wards. They weren’t supposed to fight as much, and were given training and space to grow. It would also be a good place to make friends, which she wasn’t sure she could do at school. She started to unfold it.  
“Wow. 15 pages, small print. They’re not holding back on the information,” she muttered to herself.

The eyes of a Ward in a mostly red skin tight suit, floating off the ground, seemed to be focused on her. She liked the way his costume had turned out. The neat trimmings, the shield emblem. Much better than her stupid homemade one…

It was hard to keep motivated when everything about her was less than the official heroes. Especially considering the kind of work her biological mother did. She gave a brief glance to the rest of the wards, examining the kind of people they put into the promotions.

There was a boy in high tech armor, wearing only a visor over his eyes. He looked well protected, and he had what looked to be a gun in his hands. If the Protectorate allowed that, maybe she could get some sort of weapon training? It would help her be less useless without her minions, another point of weakness.

Behind the pair of red clad Wards stood another pair of what was most likely more boys. One was in full white armor, with a creepy featureless face mask. He was covered in clocks, and Evelyn wasn’t really sure how he could see out of that thing. The other Hero was all suited up in knight’s armor, covered with glowing neon lights. That was her favorite costume of all. Maybe if she joined she could get something like that? She loved fantasy novels, and she could dress like a Samurai to compliment it! Maybe as a roguish pirate even. She wanted to look cool and dramatic like that.

Her breathing was starting to even out as she planned for what her future could be, but her body still felt achy and she had so little energy. She hadn’t yet figured out how to get around the fact that she had been adopted 12 hours ago, and needed parental permission to join up.

There were two girls on the Wards team, from what she could tell of the costumes. One was a smirking shorter girl, a little younger than Evelyn by her guess. Evelyn loved the green colors, she liked the brightness and the happy energy it gave off. The skirt was a nice touch, but seemed a bit impractical. It seemed like the “men writing women” trope had hit her costume. Evelyn bet she had some wicked power to make up for it, most of these Wards had no weapons on them. That boded well for her plan to not fight very much.

The other girl was not to Evelyn’s liking at all. Black combat boots, what looked like armor plating, and a glaring visage of a woman for a mask. The hood and cloak pulled over it brought the ensemble together into one grim image. She held a crossbow in her hands, and looked like she was ready to use it. Evelyn felt a twinge of nervousness at the thought of interacting with a cape like that, the antithesis of her as far as cape persona went. Maybe joining was a bad idea…  
No. Evelyn needed this. She flipped the page to begin reading about joining the Wards. All those years of reading had paid off, she was skimming through the pages as fast as possible. Things about the training opportunity of the Wards, leadership experiences, growing and developing as a child. A lot of fluffy words, just to fill the page, from what she could tell. She kept skimming, reading on to what Wards did.

“The Ward program teaches young Parahumans to use their powers for the greater good of society, huh?” She chuckled to herself, the hysteric laugh of someone who’s on the verge of another panic attack. “At least it’s color coded, I wonder what they’ll admit to on the dangers page. Hospitalization, possible loss of limbs, immolation… certain death? Not the best selling point…”

Evelyn couldn’t let herself be deterred. She was going to meet up with that Bug girl tomorrow night to talk about it. She took on too big of a fish, and couldn’t stay Independent for much longer. If Armsmaster was right about those statistics, she didn’t have a lot of time before her luck ran out. She wondered if the less experienced cape would stay her ‘apprentice’ if Evelyn went into the Wards and the Bug Girl did not.

Speaking of the Bug Girl, how stupid was she to invite the new cape to learn from her? Evelyn was only going to ruin the other girl, who clearly had a lot of potential.

In the back of her mind, she registered the front door opening and closing, and the thump of footsteps headed to the kitchen.

She read about power classifications, getting very little extra information that wasn’t already in her brain from her previous readings. The benefits of the Wards were outlined over several pages, then she skipped the biographies and words from Heroes who were once Wards. The fine print was written in a lot of legalese, and Evelyn was smart enough to recognize she wasn’t at that point in her education yet. She saved that to read later, with a computer or a dictionary open.

Evelyn’s brain finally finished syncing and her heart jumped. Someone had come inside. She refolded the papers quickly and bundled them up in the orange jacket, stuffing it all back under the bed. She checked to see if the room was in order, that it looked like she’d been here the whole time.

An empty shelf hanging on the wall, with a single potted plant resting on it. Her suitcase lay discarded underneath it, she had been too energized when she got in to do much more than move that in and open it. The bedside table was lit up by her lamp, showing that she hadn’t even touched that manilla folder yet. She was getting around to it. The clothes she had arrived here in were rolled into a ball and lying in a heap by her backpack near the bed, and she was wearing her pajamas. She tossed herself into the bed, and turned out the light. Her plain white covers were pulled up to her chin and she curled up on her side with her eyes almost fully closed.

The footsteps got closer to her door, and she could hear the floorboards creaking. The door swung open, and there stood Mr Wallis backlit by the hallway lights. He looked haggard and worn, his button down shirt loose and wrinkled. The lighting wasn’t kind on him. He simply stood silent for several long moments, then he turned his head to the window. He seemed to register it being open, and slowly and haltingly made his way over and closed it. The light from the street briefly lit up his face where he had a few bruises, and his beard was disheveled. He went back to the door, shut it behind him slowly, and Evelyn listened to him walk back down the hallway into another part of the house.

She quickly rose, and turned her lamp back on. She pulled the papers back out, and flipped to the last page, the paperwork. She had to work quickly, so she didn’t spend too much time reading it. She signed her name, wrote down what she knew of her medical history, and filled out the rest of the basic information. She agreed to the monthly therapy, and then got to the interesting bit.

“Describe your powers?” she read to herself, thoughtfully.

Evelyn wrote down ‘can summon small fiery minions’ and left it at that. She’d explain the rest when she went to officially join up. She continued to dot the i’s and cross her t’s, and got to the final hurdle. Place Parent/Guardian signature here.

She’d done some thinking on the way home, and she didn’t think she could tell Mr Wallis. He wanted a normal daughter, not some girl with weak superpowers. She’d handle it herself. Now all she had to do was find something with his signature on it, and copy it down. She’d wait for him to go to bed, and then sneak out into the kitchen and find a receipt, or a letter, or something. She’d figure that out then.

For now, bed. She climbed in, and put the papers into a drawer of her bedside table. Her body wasn’t resisting, with all the excitement, she was ready to lie down for a little bit. Her eyes closed pretty quickly, and she was out like a light.

\-------

Evelyn jolted awake. The moon shone in through the window, right into her eyes. It was the early morning, and she couldn’t hear anything from the rest of the house. Feeling a bit like a thief, she crept to the door quietly and opened it up. A quick glance up and down the hallway showed no signs of Mr Wallis, so she snuck on forwards. She’d gotten to the archway just before the kitchen when she heard the voices. It sounded like Mr Wallis’ deeper voice, and a higher female voice. Maybe he had company… It wasn’t her business. She got to the kitchen and checked the marble counter of the island in the center of the room for spare papers. Unopened letters were on the table, but she didn’t feel comfortable opening that. She looked on the floor, and then by the sink trying to figure out where Mr Wallis would discard the paper. She heard the voices begin to get closer, so she ducked down behind the island and pressed herself close against it.

“I’m telling you, it will aid me in researching how the rest of the teenagers interact. If I understand Evelyn, I can make sure what happened with Missy does not happen again.”

Mister Wallis was walking into the kitchen on the other side of the island, and he was talking on some sort of headset with that female voice.

“Colin. Missy had an accident, and she’s working on getting better. There’s nothing else you could’ve done. Are you doing what’s best for Evelyn, as well? Can you truly give her a better life,” asked the female voice, slightly accented.

Mister Wallis opened the fridge and pulled out an energy drink, popped the tab and began to walk back down the hallway towards the garage. I heard the rasp of paper as he placed something down on the edge of the counter.

“I’m just following your advice. She’s a good kid, and based on my tests, she does not require as much attention as the average child of her age. She fits my ability to parent well. The best option in the nearest city. Honestly-” He got far enough away that Evelyn could no longer hear him, and she had no idea how to feel about the conversation she’d overheard. She guessed that it was a good thing, that he was defending wanting her to the concerned friend? It felt kind of good to have someone stand up for her, but the comments about testing her were kind of weird… At least he wouldn’t be paying close attention so she could get the best of both worlds, both becoming a Ward and getting a new family.

Evelyn rose up and checked the paper he’d put down. A receipt for… a strangely large amount of wiring and steel. Maybe that’s what he was working on, as a hobby. Some sort of welding project… she checked the clock on the oven… at 3 am. She’d consider that when she wasn’t so tired.

All that mattered was the neat little signature at the bottom, with a fancy looping C. She palmed the paper and scurried back to her room, confident in the fact that the man was in the garage. Evelyn copied down the signature onto a notebook a few times, first, to test. When she felt she had it down to a science, she drew it out slowly onto her official Wards sign-up paper. She signed her name underneath it, and was done! In the morning, she would go to the PRT building and drop it off. Once the receipt was back on the counter around where she had picked it up, she ran back into her room and stowed the sign-up sheet in her bedside drawer. She curled back up in bed, and turned off her lamp. She was going to join the Wards!

A/n  
So begins section two of the story! The wards will be slightly different than canon, as the deviation from the universe begins to show itself more clearly. Evelyn’s plan will go smoothly, obviously. What’s the worst that could happen? Thank you for reading, please let me know your thoughts on the happenings!


	7. 2.02

2.02

Okay, so maybe the Wards weren’t going to happen right away. The morning had passed by in a blur for Evelyn. She had woken up with the fluttering of anxiety in her stomach, and a vague sense of fear from a dream that quickly slipped away from recollection like sand through her fingers. She had gotten up slowly like a zombie, feeling drained still. A lot happened over the last few days. At least a few years of only using her powers to be able to read her stories, and the occasional small crime foiled, and then she was fighting actual Capes and meeting Protectorate Heroes. She had tried so hard to stay away from the life she was born into, and now she was diving headfirst into it… 

Evelyn was in school now. What an odd idea. Evelyn Westwood, orphan by choice, the super heroic Campfire, the most bombastic and powerful 15 year old that wears bright orange for fun- She was getting carried away. That Evelyn was sitting still in an office like a normal kid who didn’t hide their powers from their adoptive dad, waiting to meet her guide for the day. 

“You need to get the best education possible in this city, Evelyn,” Mr. Wallis had told her, “Arcadia High School will do that for you. You do not need to waste time on theological studies at Immaculata, or fight through the gangs at Winslow.” 

An honest, if rather blunt interpretation. Evelyn guessed it would be hard for a man of science, working in an organization that faces the worst of humanity and monstrous forces of nature, to believe in God. It didn’t bother her, she’d been raised to believe in… well, not a God. She believed in nothing, now. Easier to just make her own luck. It was almost unimaginable that the city or even the PRT would know that one of their schools were gang controlled and not do something about it. She’d bring it up when she got some reputation as a Ward. 

She had some basic knowledge classes, as a Freshman she didn’t get many choices. Her one interesting class was an elective, The Arts vs Parahumans. She was going to get to learn how Capes influenced modern art and literature! Hopefully it wouldn’t just be about Protectorate licensed movies, she wanted to learn about books too. She’d met with the principal, got welcomed in, and had her schedule printed out. That was what she was studying now, trying to keep track of when her class times were. 

A girl, slightly older and shorter than Evelyn, pulled open the door with some enthusiasm. She was wearing a denim jacket and had her hair shaved on one side, in some sort of punk pixie cut. 

“Denise, long time no see! And this time, I’m coming in for my good behavior!” 

The punk girl’s voice was a bit smoother and higher than she’d expected, Evelyn thought she’d have a more... intense voice. The secretary gave a long suffering sigh, and a fond smile, and pointed out Evelyn to the girl. Oh no. 

“Thank you for coming so quickly, Erika. This is Evelyn Westwood, a new transfer to our school. Please show her the school, and make her feel welcome.” 

The old lady behind the counter who had been so unemotional for Evelyn’s first time here suddenly seemed like a mother instead of a robot. Denise, was it? She was throwing Evelyn to the metaphorical wolf. With a smile! 

“Of course I will! She is in very safe hands. I won’t even scare her!” 

The punk girl, newly christened as Erika, had closed the gap between them in the time that Evelyn had been looking at Denise-bot. Did she have powers too? Some manner of teleportation, clearly. An intimidation aura. Wasn’t there a private team on the East Coast that had someone with that power? Evelyn was still locked in this internal battle when the hand landed on her shoulder like the jaws of death clamping shut. 

“Hello,” exclaimed Erika, with a smile like a serial killer, “I’m your guide! Can I see that?” 

Maybe Evelyn was a little harsh. She was enthusiastic, but probably not a serial killer. Evelyn liked books and quiet, and this was a lot of energy after the days she’d been having. She handed over the paper with her classes on it and wished she’d jumped out of the window, nevermind that it was on the second floor. It could have been a less jarring experience than this.

“We have English with O’Leer together, I’m a sophomore but essays are NOT my strong suit. Got held back, you know. Not helpful to become a doctor, but what can you do right?.”

She said all this while helping Evelyn out of her seat and ushering her out of the door. Erika gave a smile to Denise-bot and then the door closed behind them. 

Erika changed into a completely different person as soon as they were free from the office. She dropped the smile, smoothed her hair back, and turned to appraise Evelyn. Evelyn realized that she hadn’t said a word yet.

“I’m Evelyn, I’m new, but you probably already knew that. I’m excited to be here?” 

Cringeworthy, but it got her point across. Was that too much for the first time they talked? Evelyn suddenly felt worried. How was she going to make friends here if she couldn’t be smooth and funny?

“Okay, let’s drop the bullshit. Some things you need to know. Empire 88 has some students here, but they won’t bother you. The ABB doesn’t have active members, but you never know when they’re going to enforce their debts on the kids in their neighborhoods, so it’s best not to antagonize them either. That’ll do for the evil “gangs” in the school. Yes, New Wave and some of the Wards go here. Best to leave them alone too, the wage slaves are full of themselves and don’t have time for the likes of us. They have their own table, at least for the ones without secret identities. Any questions so far?”

The girl had been counting off on her fingers, standing a few feet from the office door in the abandoned hallways. First period was going so they had time. Evelyn wasn’t really sure what to say, but she tried.

“Um… New Wave is the hero team right?”

Erika gave a laugh, a full deep belly laugh, and threw her arm around Evelyn’s shoulders. 

“I like you, girl. New Wave IS our very own private light themed Hero team, with the star healer Panacea and the almost Alexandria, Glory Girl. Let’s get to your first class. I’ll come get you after and you can meet my group. It’s World History with Langston right?”

Evelyn wasn’t following very well, the girl’s personality switch had thrown her off. Homeschooling was nothing like this, public school was its own breed of monster. She was liked, which was good, she thought. She thought it’d be easiest to nod and go along. They began walking, and Erika told her what locations they passed, as they went. She found out that there was a Faraday Cage in the walls of the school, preventing cell signal. She’d learned a little about Erika herself, along the way.

Erika was a very free spirit. She possessed a quick wit, and a scathing tongue. She seemed to mean her insults in good humour, but any little slip from Evelyn had a response within moments. Erika dominated the conversation, which was fine by Evelyn. Somehow the topic had shifted from school knowledge to who they were, and what they were into. 

“Did you hear that Not so Silent Edge came to town this week,” asked Erika, furtively glancing up and down the final hallway before Langston’s class. She smiled and continued, “I heard that they’re performing another concert this weekend. Even with what happened last night!” 

Erika felt confusion twist her face. She did actually know this band, but they were San Diego based. Not the type to travel this far on a whim from what she remembered, and didn’t have the fan numbers. Anarchists who hated the status quo, traveling to the other side of the country for a concert to a gang-ridden city. 

“What happened last night? Are they doing a tour or something? The punk band right?”

“Something like that, they’re here for the next two weeks performing! I was going to see them this weekend if you want to go, you seem cool enough. I can’t wait to see Infamous’ new tattoo! Apparently she tested it on Armsmaster last night when he tried to bust their gig, serves the white hat right!” 

Erika was too enthusiastic about a Hero getting an illusory monster tested out on him. Not so different from Evelyn’s power, and that was a scary thought.

“Are they alright,” asked Evelyn, not sure which group she was worried about. The band were self proclaimed rebels, but she didn’t think they were bad people. Obviously the Heroes could handle themselves. 

“Oh, yeah definitely. The show went great, the video has already made its rounds on PHO, on the right communities of course. What do you say, want to go to the next one?”

Evelyn was saved from answering an uncomfortable question by seeing the number on the door up ahead match the one on her schedule.

“I’ll have to think about it, I’m pretty busy, but this is my class! I’ll see you around, right?”

“For sure, I’ll come pick you up at the end of this class. Meet you right here.”

Evelyn left Erika with a strange look on her face, as she entered the rather dull history class. She introduced herself to the teacher, and was placed in the back of the class next to a pale brunette boy who couldn’t drag his eyes from the trees outside. She couldn’t blame him, the class was dull and only focused on the times before capes were around, so she spent the class trying to compartmentalize the information she had. Today was packed, Evelyn wasn’t going to get a break. Meet Erika’s friends, try not to stand out too much in school, join the Wards, and talk to Bug Girl tonight about that little decision. Easy peasy, right?

A/N Hey guys. Sorry for the distance between the updates, my house was in the wildfires so I’ve had a stressful time, and then I moved into college. A little filler chapter, some worldbuilding sorta, to get into the writing mood again. Thanks for reading!


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